Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh did not hide his frustration with WNBA officiating after center Kamilla Cardoso played 28 minutes, attempted 15 shots and never reached the free-throw line in Monday night’s 106-101 loss to the Phoenix Mercury. «That was a joke. It’s a f------ joke. It’s a joke,» Marsh said. «How many more games does she need to go without getting a free throw? It makes no sense. Zero sense.»
Cardoso finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and five assists while making eight of 15 field-goal attempts, but she did not attempt a single free throw. Phoenix, by contrast, went to the line 40 times, compared with 25 attempts for Chicago. Marsh said he was not arguing that the officials handed the Mercury the game. «We fouled our asses off today. We could have been more disciplined,» he said. «Not saying the officials made 40 wrong calls or 20 wrong calls, whatever it is. Not saying that at all.»
The coach’s complaint centered on Cardoso, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft. Cardoso averages nearly 10 field-goal attempts per game but fewer than four free-throw attempts, even though she operates primarily around the basket. Marsh said last week that «the film doesn’t lie» about the amount of contact Cardoso absorbs, and he has raised the issue repeatedly. Coaches often advocate for their players, but zero attempts in a game where she took 15 shots was difficult to explain, particularly in a league that has spent much of the season trying to explain its officiating.
The episode adds to a season of officiating controversies involving some of the league’s biggest stars. In June, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas drove her fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat during a scramble for a loose ball. The officials on the floor did not call a foul. The WNBA reviewed the play the next day, determined Thomas had committed a «non-basketball act», assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 and suspended her for one game. Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White called the no-call «absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful».
On Sunday, Sophie Cunningham took an elbow to the face from Minnesota Lynx forward Nia Coffey. The referees called a foul on Cunningham, and after a video review they left the call unchanged, penalizing the player who had been hit. The two incidents have fueled fans’ frustration with the consistency of WNBA officiating and put more pressure on the league to respond. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert devoted a significant portion of her All-Star media availability to the issue, saying the league «always» needs to improve and that every call, non-call and significant non-call is reviewed.
Engelbert also announced that the WNBA plans to launch a fully centralized replay center in 2027, an investment she said would cost tens of millions of dollars and is intended to create more consistency, efficiency and transparency. The league has not committed to implementing the NBA’s Last Two Minute reports, which publicly identify correct and incorrect calls in the closing minutes of close games. Marsh was not arguing that officiating cost Chicago the game, just as White’s complaints did not change the result of Indiana’s loss to Phoenix. But the pattern has left coaches, players and fans watching obvious contact treated differently from one possession to the next, and a future replay center will not fix the problem if officials still miss obvious contact or get reviews wrong.
